Prayer for the Road
by EllieKCroft
Summary: [Joel/Ellie pairing. Rated M for language and stuff] Life in Jackson seemed peacefull and normal, Joel and Ellie fight to understand what they feel for each other but, what happens when Tommy ask them to leave town for a couple days after Ellie's birthday party? What happens when they return and find their town destroyed and all people gone? Will they survive to find Tommy?
1. Intro

So Hello guys. I promise it won't take long to read, I just need you to be warned of certain things.  
1st – I'm Portuguese; I'm not a native English speaker so I do apologize for any mistakes that you may found.  
2st – This is my first TLOU fan fiction and like it's said: it is a fanfiction so don't come with rude comments about how disgusting it is to read Joel and Ellie stuff. I mean, it's just a story.  
3rd – I really appreciate your comments and critics 'cause you know, it makes you improve :) so feel free to say whatever you feel like.

So, if you're still interested in reading just jump right to chapter one. Good reading Thanks 


	2. Part I

**PART ONE**

All our lives are made of rules, everything we do reflects on other people's behavior, most of the time we demote and blame ourselves for things we do or for things we think or feel. Sometimes we just can't handle what life gives us, sometimes we just need to lose ourselves to be found again but of one thing I am positively sure, is that everything happens for a reason.  
A year ago no one would guess that a little girl could be the cure to save mankind; no one would even imagine that some crazy man would do anything to stop it. They both knew it was the right thing to do, _or not_, but there was no way on Earth he was going to let his baby girl die. He had already lost one, many years ago.

It was probably the most selfish thing to do and maybe she would blame him for lying to her about her being useless just as many others' immunity had been. It could have been easy, in fact it wouldn't bother him at all to let her go on that first day, the day Tess died, the day Ellie was supposed to be delivered to the Fireflies, the day Joel freaked out, thinking he would have to endure all that situation alone.

It was complicated at first; he even wanted to get rid of her to his brother. He didn't trust himself to take her and she didn't trust anyone else but him to do so. They went through a lot together; their relationship grew so much they found themselves planning things after the journey. They both wanted to be around each other, maybe for the rest of their lives.

After dealing with the goddamn Fireflies they made their way back to Tommy's little town. Joel didn't regret lying to her and though she felt suspicious about his words, she ended up accepting it. Ellie knew he was only trying to protect her from whatever was left behind. They were about to start a new life and she was happy about it, she was happy that she finally had a home and Joel was pleased to settle down for a while and no one would like to ruin their moment.  
Most of the people in town happily welcomed them into town, some others didn't like as much but they got used to it. Only Tommy and Maria knew about Ellie's condition and they were actually the only ones that needed to know, at least per now.

Ellie would turn sixteen within a week and a lot of things have changed since she left the little fourteen year old girl behind, a lot of things have changed now that she finally had the time to enjoy a "normal life". Ellie was a girl and, more importantly, she was a teenager and just like the other teen girls also she changed not only physically but also mentally. Though she kept small and skinny, she already felt like a grown up woman, her hormones were more alive than ever, her mood swings were Joel's worse nightmares, thoughts about relationships and sex often assaulted her mind and from time to time she even caught herself looking at some of the few boys in town. However, there was someone that always felt more special than anyone else; someone for whom she felt weird and nervous and shy. Her stomach would burn like hell every time she looked at him; she could barely think or speak. Ellie always knew what to say and now, she simply couldn't find the right words.  
"Are you coming or what?" Joel grumbled at the teenage girl who was standing shrunken on her bikini bra and blue shorts by the side of the lake.  
"Are you sure this is really necessary?"  
The man nodded, smiling.

Since they arrived in Jackson Joel promised Ellie he would spend some time teaching her how to swim but somehow the work in town always overlap it. He spent most of the day helping Tommy and the other men building, fixing and sometimes even went out to chop some wood. Ellie spent her days with Maria tending the community the garden and working with the animals. Both their lives were busy and even at night they didn't saw each other as much as they wanted due to the night shifts on the wall to protect the town.

"Yes it is. I ain't leaving this world without knowing you can swim properly."  
"Don't start that bullshit again. You're not that old." She said, finally putting her feet in the cold water of the pond. At least it was summer and days were hotter than ever. The fresh water felt good and clean in her toes.  
"C'mon Ellie I already taught you the basics!" He grumbled again as she rolled her eyes. She was almost turning sixteen but the childish attitude would never go away. Maybe she did that on purpose to avoid certain situations. He confessed he liked that babyish part of her, it made her so cute and unique but he also had to admit that sometimes she just overacted. Even so, she needed to act like that because, behind the safe walls of the town, she had to be tough to do whatever it needed to be done.  
Joel got out of the water and pulled her in the air, putting her over his shoulder as she grunted pretty loud.  
"You fucker, put me down!" She kept screaming, hitting him on his back and kicking.  
"Didn't I tell you to moderate your language, young lady?"

He made his way to a deeper part of the lake where he would touch the ground but she couldn't and then threw her into the lake. She slapped and spitted water everywhere to start swimming like a goddamn dog. At least she was able to remain at the surface. Joel couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably.  
"Just move you arms and legs like a frog like I taught you." He said standing arms crossed in the water, looking and smiling as she tried to open her arms to push the water and swim forward. She kept on doing that until her body felt tired and ready to fall asleep.  
"My arms hurt!" She complained.  
"Just hold out. You need to gain stamina or you won't be able to swim for long."

She kept grumbling as she gave a few more pushes in the water around Joel and then started drowning. She was serious when she said her arms hurt and now her legs too. Joel got closer and picked her by the arms, bringing her up to the surface again as she heavily coughed and widened her beautiful, scared green eyes.  
"Gotcha!" He said. She was still pretty slight and he could lift her up with one hand if he wanted to. Joel was a strong man and his age wasn't worsening anything apart from his mind. He had been complaining about how old he was for the last year. He felt weaker and useless and sometimes even felt guilty for that, he didn't want to become a burden in anybody's life, especially Ellie's  
"I think it is enough training for today."  
"Thank God!"

He lifted her up by the waist and sat her on his shoulders while holding her hands so she wouldn't fall. _Oh no! That feeling again. _She felt too old for him to carry her like that; at least that was what she thought because he didn't seem to bother at all. Did he ever realize she was not a kid anymore and that every time he touched her it was like burning in hell? She didn't dislike the feeling, in fact she loved of how close they were but still couldn't find out what all of it meant to her. It was way too awkward and she'd rather ignore it.

"You don't need to carry me, I can swim." So now she wanted to swim.  
"That's ok, I'm fine." He said quietly, walking towards the shore.  
Once finally there she quickly slid down his back to the weed ground while he went to pick their clothes, hanging on a tree branch.  
"I'm starving." She said rubbing her stomach. Joel threw her clothes at her and started dressing himself. "Hope dinner's good tonight."  
He laughed a bit.  
"I bet it is. Maria and Johanna are cooking today."  
"Oh…" She stared at ground. Ellie had to admit she hated that Johanna. The black haired woman was in her late thirties and fell for Joel since the first day. Actually, she used to cling to him like a fucking tick. Fortunately that day she was helping Maria in the dining hall so she and Joel could spend some time together, alone! "Good…"She finally said.  
"You ok?" He worried. She immediately nodded, giving him a weak smile and he relaxed a bit. "Let's go then."

It was a very hot night, the sky was starry and the dining area outside was beautifully decorated with lanterns and lots of flowers. There were laughing citizens all over the place. The little town had been welcoming more and more families over the year and though it did seem like a really good thing, Maria and Tommy were worried. More families would mean more food, more houses, and more supplies but, in controversy, it also meant more people to work and help defending the town. As long as things kept quiet and healthy for every single one, they wouldn't dare to do anything about the overpopulation.

That night the plates were filled with mush potatoes, grilled fish and cherry tomatoes. Tommy and the other man had recently spent some time going out to fish and it was nice to have such a nice meal once in a while, especially when Maria got her golden hands on the kitchen. Even the kids were happy to have cookies, made by Johanna, for dessert.  
Ellie had already finished her meal to join her friends by the fire pit, away from all the adults who played cards, drank homemade beer or wine and discussed techniques to kill bandits or even infected. No matter how much they tried to have a normal life, all their conversations would lead to "how to survive the next day". Apparently, the kids were not so much into that matter as they probably shall. Apart from Ellie who was the typical badass, the others just seemed to have way more interesting things to talk about. They needed to keep their sanity in case the adults' ran out.

"What about your party next month?" Jay, a dark skinned boy asked to the freckled girl in front of him. However, she wasn't paying any attention to any of her friends; she was worried about something else that was happening right behind her back. That Johanna bitch was hitting hard on Joel and was almost, literally, sitting on his lap. Joel was laughing hard, with a big mug of beer in one hand and the other arm surrounding the woman's waist. Ellie frowned. _What the hell is he doing?_ She thought.  
"Ellie!"Jay called, clicking his fingers for her to wake up. The girl turned to look at the boy.  
"What?" She asked angrily  
"Are you ok?"  
"Of course I am. What do you want?"  
Everybody laughed at the girl's absent-mind.  
"I was asking you about your birthday party."  
She frowned again. Her mind was racing. She wanted to look back and see how far that woman was going and how was he reacting to it. She didn't even care about the goddamn party or whatever. _Why am I so bothered, he can have whoever the fuck he wants!_  
"It's too soon to think about it."  
Thus the answer was given, she was ready to take a look at what was happening at the table behind her but before she could turn her head, a big, strong hand paused on her tiny shoulder. Her heart jumped. It was Joel.  
"I'm going home, it's late. You stayin'?"  
She had a few moments to process the information. Would she like to risk letting him go home alone? Who knows if Johanna wouldn't follow him? Who knows if they wouldn't end up in the same bed until next morning? Ellie couldn't even think about it.  
"I'm going with you."

The pair waved goodbye and wished goodnight to everyone and then started walking home. Both walked side by side, silently and once in a while Joel would stumble in his own feet. _Is he drunk?_ Ellie felt her stomach twitch as they got closer to the little wooden house.

Right after settling in town, the girl got used to have her own room, she needed her privacy and they both knew it. Still, she would sneak out to Joel's bed in the middle of the night, it was beside him where she felt safer and he didn't bother at all, he liked to have her that close 'cause at least with him, no one would even dare to hurt her.  
Once they got home and entered the dark living room, Ellie closed the front door and prepared to head upstairs to her bedroom but something instantly stopped her. Joel grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him, hitting her back on his chest and then, over her shoulders, hugged her tightly. Her breath failed.

"Joel, what are you doing?" She asked, barely escaping from the man. Her heart was pounding wildly. Was she dreaming or something?  
He pulled her back, grabbing her shoulders firmly. He hid his face on the curve of her neck while breathing heavily against her skin and then started dancing. A weird shiver traveled up her spine and her eyes almost went blind.  
"Are you drunk?"  
"Maybe…" He laughed.  
"We better-we better go to sleep…" She tried to release herself again but still couldn't. He was so much stronger than her, even drunken. "C'mon Joel, let me go."  
"Why?" He teased, caressing her neck with his lips as his beard also tickled her. "You don't like this?" He murmured in her ear.  
She stared at the ceiling, trying to avoid little sighs from escaping her mouth. Then suddenly, some heavenly strength possessed her small body and she finally released herself from those muscular, tempting arms. It's not that she didn't like it but it was so awkward, she didn't even know if she should be feeling these kinds of feelings for him, for the man that could eventually be her father. Well, he was not and love is not something you should be ashamed of. _Love? Is it love? Carnal love I mean?  
_"Ehm…" She tried, desperately, to keep lucid. "You're drunk, it's late and we should go to sleep. Now!"  
"You sure about that?"He yawned.  
"Uh-huh." She nodded.

She widened her eyes as he got closer again, smirking. Their faces were way, way too close and that felt terribly uncomfortable, Ellie knew that if anything happened there between them and if he remembered anything, by the morning time, he wouldn't be happy to know he did such things with her. Joel was drunk, he didn't have any control over his actions and if, if that happened, their relationship would come out so strange. She didn't want that at all.  
He kept smiling, stupidly, at her and then rested his forehead on her shoulder and started snoring very softly. She sighed, relieved that sleep had finally come to him and that whole situation would end as soon as she put him to bed.  
Ellie put her arms around him and smiled whilst patted his hair.  
"Let's go…" She grumbled.

Thanks for reading.  
Don't forget to comment :)  
kisses


	3. Part II

**This is a big one haha sorry if it's too long :\ . Hope you like it. Don't forget to review. Thanks**

**Part two**

"Hmmm!" It was Joel, stepping into kitchen, stretching. "It smells good!" He said in the end of a big yawn.  
"Good morning to you too." Ellie said barely looking at the man. She was concentrating on the food; since she was never a perfect cooker, it was better to not let anything get burned; those weren't good days to waste food.

He got behind her, peeking over her shoulder to see what smelled so good. She shivered a bit by understanding he was only half dressed, but immediately tried to avoid any naughty thoughts from her mind. She didn't want to, in case he didn't remember, explain to him what happened last night or even give to him any wrong ideas. Even though she felt more and more different about him from day to day, there was no reason to worry him with stupid things, there was no reason to make a big of a deal out of her teenage confusions, everything would settle at its own time and then she would probably know what to do.

"I love when you cook for me." He murmured into her hair. Then, he suddenly left her to go sit at the island counter. She felt empty and cold and unprotected. _Silly girl I am…_  
"It's almost ready…"  
"Look, Ellie…" He cleared his throat and Ellie shivered once again.  
There was something pretty delicate coming out very soon. She tried to remain calm.  
"Yeah?" The girl turned around to put in front of him a plate with toasts and scrambled eggs.  
"I reckon I drank a little too much last night so I apologize if I did somethin', let's say, less polite…" He worried. So did her. In fact, she wanted to tell him how flirty and inappropriate he had been around Johanna and that if he repeated that again she wouldn't be sleeping in his bed for the rest of her life but, it was only jealousy talking and she, definitely, didn't want him to know she had those kinds of feelings.  
"Don't need to worry, I just took you and you fell asleep like a rock." She said, sitting at the counter next to him, eating her breakfast.  
"Good…" He filled his mouth with egg.

**Later that morning**

Joel loved to have a house, a new life, a decent place to live but all that work made him go crazy, especially when Tommy named him to clean the horse's shit. So there was he at the stables, shovel in hand, scooping the poop into a wheelbarrow.  
And there she came, on her high knee boots, dark jeans, white top and a red ribbon on her black hair. She was, with no shadow of a doubt, a beautiful, curvy, busty woman. But that was not the body he wanted, was it?  
"My God, Joel! It stinks in here!"  
"Well, if you know someone or some animal whose shit smells like roses please let me know." He said ironically.  
The woman laughed, leaning herself over the fence.  
"I just saw Ellie…" She giggled. "I'm happy se finally found someone special."  
Joel froze for a second and then stopped whatever he was doing to, carefully, pay attention to Johanna.  
"What you mean?" He asked.  
"She and Jay were heading up to the canteen. They were actually pretty cozy around each other. Isn't it cute?" She giggled again, delighted by the teenage love or, God knows why, trying to provoke Joel.  
"Cozy?" He insisted, raising an eyebrow; the man was starting to get nervous.  
"You know…whispering, laughing, very close to each other…" She grinned.  
Joel took a brief moment to think about what the curvy lady just said and also to imagine his baby girl with someone, maybe a boyfriend. He wasn't sure if he liked that but after all, it was her life and she had the right, she needed to do whatever the fuck she wanted to. Joel was not her dad and she obviously could take care of herself even if he had some kind of weird, unknown feelings for her. Maybe he should get away from her, give her space, she was not a baby.  
"That's good…" He found, going back to shovel the stinky dung. "She deserves to have a normal life for once." He said, more to himself than for Johanna to listen.  
"What about you?"  
"What about me?"  
"Don't you want to have a normal life, with someone special by your side?"  
Joel stopped again what he was doing to look, confused, at her. He was not confused at all, she was shamelessly offering herself to marry him in that right moment and place and he found it pretty easy to understand. Well, it wasn't his fault if she felt completely in love with him or whatever the hell she felt. The only thing Joel wanted was to stay out of trouble and women were always way too complicated for him to comprehend. Tess wasn't that complicated and neither is Ellie but, technically, she is just a kid, a teenager with agitated hormones.  
"I'm fine just like this."  
"Yes but-"  
"Joel!"It was Tommy screaming, saving Joel's ass. God bless the younger brothers!  
He was walking very fast towards Joel and had a big smile on his face.  
"What you need?" The big brother asked.  
"I need you and Ellie…" He looked to his right. "And you Johanna, to be ten minutes earlier in the dining hall. Maria and I have something important to tell the town."  
"What is it?" Now Joel was curious.  
"Don't worry, you'll know very soon." He smiled. "Don't be late!" He threatened, friendly of course.  
"I won't, I won't." The big brother said, rising his arms in the air.  
Tommy walked away while Joel shrugged to the woman's puzzled face. Then, he went back to finish the rest of his work or at least what he could because, apparently, Johanna had nothing better to do but talk to him all day and bore him to death. Strangely enough, he was missing Ellie.

**Night**

"What do you think they have to tell us?" Asked the redheaded girl, peering at the bathroom door.  
"How the hell should I know?" She shrugged. "All I know is that if you don't hurry, we'll be late, and dead!"  
"Pfff..." She grumbled. "I'm almost done."  
"Yeah…sure." The man murmured, letting a weak smile form on the corner of his lips. Joel realized, during several times of everyday, how much he liked her. He was pretty sure that it couldn't be a good thing.

Later on, Joel and Ellie arrived, just in time, at the outside dining hall where the founder couple awaited, nervously, for everyone to sit down. When they finally did, Maria took a deep breath and held her husband' hand. They both rose from their chairs and Tommy cleared, loudly so he could have everybody's attention, his throat. All the townies immediately went silent, staring at them.  
"Thank you, for being here earlier tonight." He squeezed his partner hand and smiled. "When this little town was founded, no one could imagine how big it would grow. Maria and I are very happy to welcome more and more families every day. Therefore, we both would appreciate that you could also welcome our first son…or daughter."  
Maria nodded, big smile on her face.  
"I' pregnant!" She finally announced.  
After a brief moment of surprised silence, everyone started cheering, specially Ellie who was gladly jumping on her seat and staring, completely amazed, at the blonde woman. Maria had this maternal figure which Ellie felt really comfy about.  
Joel was also dumbfounded, not only because of the baby news butalso to see that glimmering joy into the light, green gaze by his side. When did he start to look at her like that? It was felt so wrong to him.

After receiving all the congratulations the couple and the rest of the town went back to their sits to start eating.  
Ellie clapped at Maria and Tommy' face once again while screeching. She looked even happier than the future parents!  
"I'm so happy for you guys!" She said.  
They both exchange smiling glances at each other and laughed.  
"Thank you, Ellie." Maria said.  
The teen finally stopped her clapping to look at Joel and when she did, she found the man with a weak, but true, little smile drawn on his mouth.  
"You ok?" She murmured landing her small hand on his knee. Joel almost shivered, gazing at her little fingers; then he looked, sadly, into her eyes. His mind was far, far away, with Sarah. He missed her too much. It's never been easy to deal with such deaths and Ellie knew it, she also lost someone she loved but, you know, they lived in a shitty world and death surrounded them with no pity. People died or lost their minds every day, nothing was easy in such a diseased planet. All they could do was survive, stay focused and fight for themselves and for those who left.  
Joel closed his eyes, answering with a nod to the girl…  
"I'm fine, Ellie…" He said, daring himself to touch the girl's hand on his leg. Her hands were always so cold but, he didn't mind that.

Everything was perfect that night until the busty woman, Johanna, got closer to their table. She, once again, congratulated Maria and Tommy and, taking advantage of the opportunity, she sat next to Joel. They immediately started to drink more than they could actually handle, except Maria. Joel ignored the girl the entire dinner.  
Ellie quickly finished her meal and went by the fire pit to meet her friends. She was pretty upset about that whole scene. Joel never behaved like that; he would never ignore her because of some woman, what was he trying to do?

When she got closer to the fire pit, something unusual intrigued her. There was no one there.  
_Where the hell are they?  
_The girl looked everywhere and there was no sign of her friends but a little further there was some big cloud of smoke, nearby their tree house, coming out into the air. Maybe they were throwing a party and Ellie, obviously, wanted to be part of it. Specially after being denied by the person she cared the most.  
She started walking very fast towards the smoke.

**[Joel]**

Joel was now starting his third mug of beer and Johanna would take advantage of that to get closer to him until Maria and Tommy felt uncomfortable and were forced to leave the other pair alone.  
Johanna put her leg over Joel's and rested her head on his shoulder while patting his chest very slowly. Joel couldn't stop laughing.  
"Where's Ellie?" He asked.  
"I don't know. Joel, why don't we go home? We'd have more privacy there…" She teased.  
He laughed again.  
"I need to know where Ellie is."  
"She is probably with that boy of hers…" Johanna rolled her eyes. She was getting tired of that Ellie thing; Ellie was everywhere in Joel's mind and she was getting pissed about it.  
"Boy of hers? What you mean?" He then stopped laughing and stared, puzzled, at the woman.  
"Oh Joel, that boyfriend she has, Jay or whatever. Why don't you forget about her and concentrate on other things…" The busty lady grabbed Joel's hand, putting him on her leg. She was wearing a pair of shorts so his robust hand would touch nothing else but her skin. Joel raised an eyebrow at what she did but didn't took his hand off her leg.  
"I better find her... "He said nervously, trying to get on his feet but Johanna sat him back.  
"Just forget about her. She must be having so much fun…" She provoked him. "Let's go home…"  
"Having so much fun? What are you saying?" He raised his eyebrows again, his voice was shaky and it was not because of the alcohol.  
The woman rolled her eyes again. Johanna couldn't understand why the hell he bothered so much about that little brat. In her opinion Ellie was just annoying.  
"You know Joel, she is probably having her special moment with him, she is a teenager and she is obviously curious about… those things. I think we should go home and have some fun as well."  
_Those things? Ellie having…sex with some boy? I can't let that happen, she is just a little girl…she's mine…  
_Joel widened his eyes, shaking his head and panting very hardly.  
_No she is not mine…I can't thing about it…I'm such a pervert old man…_  
"C'mon Joel, you know that day would come. She wouldn't be a kid forever…"  
"I gotta go home…" He said, landing the mug on the table and closing his eyes. All he saw was flashes coming and going of Ellie with some boy…  
"I'll take you…"

**[Ellie]**

When she got to the tree house, the other teens were dancing happily around another fire pit, drinking juice and telling jokes. The music was pretty loud but at least it was some nice, energetic songs. Jay finally had the time to fix the battery stereo which worked now with solar energy. It would charge during the day so at night they could have some fun._  
_"Hey guys!" Ellie exclaimed.  
"Hello Ellie." Some said.  
Others only gave her a head nod.  
"Nice party you got here…"  
"True! Hope yours' like this too, you could even ask Maria to let us have some alcohol on that special night." Apple, a brown haired girl said, laughing out loud.  
Ellie sighed mentally. She was getting all tired of that whole party thing and the ironic tone in Apple's voice only made it worse. She remembered last year, when Maria decided to organize a surprise party for her. Ellie couldn't deny how cool it had been, people seemed so nice and Joel was way more dedicated back then. Even so, in her most sincere opinion she thought it was totally useless, a complete waste of time and food. This year would be a sacrifice 'cause apart from Jay, the rest of the teens in town always looked at her with a weird face, sometimes she felt she didn't belong there anymore.  
"Sure thing…" She stared at the ground as Apple joined the others in the dance.  
"Hey, Ellie!" The girl looked up again. It was her best friend Jay.  
"Hi!"  
"What's up?" He smiled. Ellie shrugged. "I think you need a special treatment right before your birthday." He grinned, holding her hand. "Come with me."  
"Where are we going?"  
"To the tree house, I have something to show you." The boy winked at her.  
"Ok…" She nodded.  
Jay dragged her towards the tree and then they both climbed the ladder. Ellie sat down on the floor, watching her friend nervously search for something among the many pillows they had in there.  
The boy gazed at her with a side smile and raised his hand from the pillows, revealing a bottle of whiskey.  
Ellie widened her eyes.  
"I didn't want to share it with those bastards."  
"Where did you get that?"  
"I stole it…from Tommy's office."  
They both giggled. Only God knew how much Ellie resembled to him in that aspect. Also she loved to borrow stuff people didn't lend her.  
"Want some?" He asked, passing her the bottle.  
She immediately twisted her mouth, pulling her body away from the drink.  
"I think I'll pass. But thanks."  
"It tastes really bad but, whatever!" He opened the bottle.

Jay was only one year older than Ellie so, technically, he was still a kid and people under the age of twenty one were not allowed to drink. In a world where rules didn't mean what it used to, people would do whatever the fuck they wanted. Obviously, as a way to keep order and some discipline, Jackson had its own rules and one of them forbidden kids and teens from drinking alcohol. Stealing stuff from others was also against the rules. Who disobeyed the Town's rules would be charged with extra work.  
However, kids being kids always needed to feel normal and part of some goddamn group so they would do whatever kids and teens used to do in the past. They would drink alcohol, smoke weird stuff, sneak out in the middle of the night to meet their friends or to have some special moments with their girlfriends or boyfriends, have sex whenever they felt like and all those irresponsible things.

"Ellie, I brought you here also because I wanted to tell you something…" The boy looked nervous.  
"Shoot it!"  
"This is not easy…" He laughed nervously. "I've known you for almost two years; I thought it would be easier to say…"  
"Is something wrong with you?" She worried.  
The boy shook his head.  
"Did you…I mean, have you ever…had a boyfriend?" He gave her a shy look.  
The girl raised her eyebrows, surprised by the question.  
Since she turned fifteen, since she actually became a woman, Ellie had been curious about certain things. From all those crazy things teens do, she sure didn't like the taste of whisky and definitely didn't appreciate the idea of smoke burning her throat and lungs but, she had never been with anyone. She loved and kissed Riley once but that was something completely different.  
"No…" She murmured, shaking her head very softly.  
"I think…I can't really explain it to you with words…."  
"Explain what?" She felt nervous.  
"What I feel…for you…" Ellie blushed. Jay never stopped looking at her and in that very same moment he put the bottle down and got closer to the girl.  
Was he going to do what she thought he was going to? _Is he going to kiss me?_ She had never kissed, French kissed anybody before. However, she felt curious about it. What would it be like to have somebody's tongue in her own mouth? It sounded pretty disgusting to her but probably it wasn't, otherwise people wouldn't do it.  
"Jay…" She tried. Her cheeks burnt like hell just by feeling their breaths mix together.  
"Shhh…" He hushed her, getting even closer.  
In a matter of seconds, the black skinned boy' lips met with hers. Nothing very new for Ellie, except that Jay was a boy.  
He put his hand on her chin and carefully with his helpful thumb he pulled her jaw down to, slowly, part her lips. When she finally did, he tried really hard to entangle their tongues together and after a little while they found their almost-perfect rhythm and were able to enjoy the kiss.

His mouth was warm, wet and tasted like a mix of alcohol and smoke. She was pretty sure he had been doing more in the tree house than just drinking. His tongue danced perfectly inside her mouth, he obviously knew what he was doing but Ellie didn't find anything very exciting about French kissing Jay. In fact, it was completely awkward, feeling his tongue touching hers like that felt wrong and ugly. _I'm being paranoid, it's you goddamn first kiss Ellie!_ She thought.

After a little while, due to air needs, they broke the kiss.  
In the end all she could think about was Joel and Joel only. What would he think If he saw her kissing a boy? Would he even be jealous at all? She wanted him to be, she wanted him to kiss her just like Jay did but, that was not right! How could she even consider the possibility of being in love with some old man that could be her father? Was she fucking insane? Besides, Joel would never, ever look at her that way. In is eyes, Ellie was only a kid.  
But that wasn't completely true, was it?

"I'd better go home…" She said.  
"Wait…" He grabbed her arm. "Didn't you like it?"  
"I did, I did but it's late, I need to go…" She rose up from the floor.  
Jay copied her movement.  
"I'm sorry if I rushed a bit but, I needed you to know how I feel about you." He held her hand. Somehow, she looked and was scared. The only thing she wanted was to head home and wrap herself in Jo-. Well, wrap herself in her blankets and sleep.  
"Don't worry. It's ok. We'll talk tomorrow."  
She released her hand, climbed down the wooden ladder, said goodbye to the rest of her friends and ran home as fast as she could.

Ellie didn't felt good. That kiss wasn't as good as she imagined it would be, she always imagined that kissing someone was something really special and a moment full of passion. She didn't love Jay so, obviously, there couldn't be any passion in the kiss and Joel, Joel was sticking to her mind like glue the whole time!

In the exact moment Ellie got home, she saw what she didn't need to see. Johanna was, in that right moment, hugging Joel goodbye and leaving their house. _That bitch!_  
Ellie accelerated her pace, she tried so pass through him without getting noticed but it was useless.  
"Hey- Hey!" He grabbed her arm. "Where you think you're going?"  
"To my room…" She murmured.  
"Not until you tell me where you've been. You know I don't like you out so late."  
She rolled her eyes, trying to release herself from his hand.  
"Out…"  
"Where?"He insisted.  
"Just out!" She repeated cynically, noticing how bad Joel's breath smelled. "Are you drunk again?"  
"Ellie…" He growled, grabbing her arm tightly "Stop that! You know, I think that boy Jay isn't a good company for you!"  
"What is your fucking problem? Can't I have friends?"  
"You…are my problem! I don't know how to deal with your unruly attitude anymore!"  
"Maybe you should stop seeing that bitch!"  
"Don't push on your luck Ellie…" He warned.  
The girl laughed ironically.  
"Have you fucked her yet? She must be dying to suck you!" She growled.  
Suddenly, Joel gave a big roar and a deep sound was heard and Ellie's body shrunken in a fast move. She breathed hard, keeping her eyes tightly closed. Then, she looked up, filling up with tears, to face the man who was panting hard, holding his strong fist against the wall. _Bastard!  
_She sniffed, shaking her head.  
"You were going to beat me…" She murmured.  
The girl rushed into the house and ran to her room, barricading the door with everything she could find.  
"Ellie, wait! I-I'm sorry…"  
Joel closed the front door and ran upstairs after her. He tried to open the door but it was, obviously, useless. He knocked his fist on it very hard but she wouldn't open and all he could hear was her uncontrollable cry. Listening to that was worse than have ten sticks impaling him. He would regret that moment forever.  
"Ellie, please, open the door. I'm sorry…"  
"Go away!" She shouted.  
"I didn't mean to do that…I'm really sorry."  
"Just leave me alone!"  
"Baby girl…" He murmured.

**[To be continued...]**

**hehe hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading. **


	4. Part III

**Sorry for the delay. I haven't been home lately so I had no time to write anything. I'm glad you are liking it :)  
**

**Part 3 **

It had been a very long hard week in Jackson.  
Since the night Jay declared his love and kissed Ellie and since Joel almost slapped her, things between them had been stranger than ever. The girl would do whatever she could to avoid being in the same room as Joel for a long time or any deep conversations with him; In the morning she would leave home pretty early and would only come back when the lights were off 'cause that's when she knew Joel was sleeping or at least in his room. He worried at first, not knowing where or with whom she was, but then just got used to the anxious feeling burning in his chest and stomach. In fact, he got used to spend sleepless nights the whole week. Joel got tired and it was reflecting on Tommy's complaints about the poor job his big brother had been doing in town but that was something that he could not control, Joel missed his little girl crawling up into his bed in the middle of the night; without Ellie, nights were just a endless nightmare, there was no way he could fall asleep alone in that cold, large bed. He would never invade her space, he recognized how stupid he had been with her, he had been such a beast and he knew that with her he could never lose control with, he loved her in so many ways that he couldn't understand but no matter how mad or scared he felt about his disgusting feeling towards her it was his job to protect her, until the day he died.  
However, she managed to mentally forgive him and forget about what happened, she was able to live with him again, it felt like the first time they were set together but luckily this time Ellie didn't need to stick to him the entire time, she could just run to other side of the town and pretend everything was ok.

The weekend had arrived, Ellie's birthday was getting closer and, just like the last year, Maria decided to ask some other women for help to prepare everything to the girl's dinner party. The teen tried to beg for a little celebration but Maria wouldn't let that happen and Ellie would never argue against a pregnant lady.  
As the big day approached, even she got a little excited about it, she was actually enjoying all the attention given to her, after all people don't celebrate their birthdays every day.

By lunch time, Joel got home to have a quick meal. Tommy had overloaded his big brother with hard work and it wasn't pretty; Joel was tired and hungry and angry, he was about to punch somebody in the face and send the whole world to hell but then he just saw his adorable girl on the porch; suddenly everything around him got strangely perfect and he was more peaceful then ever.  
Ellie was lying on the porch swing, holding a comic book in her little hands and resting her slender legs and feet on the back of the swing; those little blue shorts always, innocently, showing more than she could notice and, more than he could handle seeing. Her breathing was calm and soft, her chest would raise and lower very slowly, her eyes and lips would, once in a while, shape a genuine smile as she giggled at the pages she was reading. Joel groaned low. Did he ever become aware of how beautiful she was?  
"God…" He murmured.  
All of a sudden her freckled, rosy face left the interesting book to turn and look at him. She seemed confused but happy to see him.  
"I didn't cook lunch for you…" She said with her sweet voice.  
Joel shook his head, letting go every single evil thought.  
"That's ok, I'll manage it myself."  
He stepped, quickly, into the house but a few seconds after he realized he forgot to say something to her and returned to the porch.  
"By the way…" He scratched his beard, looking at the ground. "I won't be able to go to your dinner tonight…"  
The girl instantly sat on the swing, closing the book and throwing it somewhere she didn't saw.  
"What? But I thought Tommy had given you the night off…" She frowned, desperately, at him who was still staring at the ground, now scratching the back of his head.  
"Well he had…" He looked at her. "But apparently Kate got sick and I have to cover her shift…I'm sorry."  
"What about tomorrow? Maybe we can have lunch together…" She hoped. It would be bad not having him at the dinner but, having lunch with him, just the two of them would be even better.  
But the man shook his head in disapproval, crossing his arms and staring at the ground once again. No one imagined how much he wanted to be with her but, there was also a part of him that couldn't bare more selfishness towards her, she didn't deserve it; It was time to let her make her own decisions, he needed to let her and those crazy thoughts about them together go. He could've had the night off if he wanted to but there was no way he was going to ruin her party so he didn't even bother when Tommy gave him the shift cover. Ellie was, definitely, better off without him.

"I'm afraid it won't happen. I have a lot of work tomorrow. I'm really sorry Ellie…"  
He finished, going inside the house.  
"But it's my fuckin' birthday…" She murmured.

**1 hour later**

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked, passing through the porch as she saw Joel rubbing a mattress with a wet sponge.  
"Washing your mattress and sheets, the weather seems pretty decent so it should dry until night. After you come from the party you just need to put it in your bed."  
"Right…"  
"And where are you going in such a rush? Have you eaten?" He rose up.  
"Help Maria, feed the animals, drown myself in the lake, I don't know…I just can't stay here…" She stepped down the stairs.  
Looking at his face was so painful for her. Imagining him missing the big day of her life seemed completely surreal. It had always been significant for her to have him around on the special dates and he'd always been there by her side, making her happier. That year, her birthday party would be the first important date he would miss and who knows if he'd be present during Christmas too. Ellie was pretty sure that those absent attitudes had a reason and that reason was probably a woman whose name starts with J. _I hate that bitch!_

Ellie was heading towards the dining area where she hoped Maria would be, getting everything ready for the night. At least, not everyone had dodged her party; there were people that actually cared.  
When she got there, Maria was already leaving the area and walking home. As she saw Ellie, she immediately invited her to have lunch with her and Tommy. Maria had a surprise for the teen whish would be revealed right after they eat. Ellie had no idea what the woman had for her but she nodded anyway.

"Why don't you tell me?"The girl asked.  
"Because it is a surprise!" Maria explained, smiling."I' sure you're going to like it." She winked.  
"Okay…" Ellie nodded.  
"I really like to chat with you girls but, unlike you I have serious work to do…" Tommy said, raising from his chair.  
"Ha Ha! You're really funny." Maria said, ironically.  
Tommy bent to kiss his wife.  
"By the way, Ellie, is Joel at home? I need his help…"  
"He was when I left…" Tommy nodded, opening the front door."Hey, Tommy!"  
"Yes?" He turned to face the girl.  
"Why did you gave Joel the night shift tonight?" He's going to miss the party."  
The man frowned.  
"Well, I told him that I could find someone else to cover Kate' shift but he said he could do it."  
"Really?"  
Tommy nodded. So he was lying, he basically offered himself to cover the night shift. That was disappointing.  
"I asked him about your dinner but he said he was fine so I didn't even argue back. Sorry, maybe I should have." He said, twitching his mouth.  
"Not, that's ok…thanks." Ellie murmured, looking down at her plate still full of food.  
Tommy gave Maria a jumbled face but she just smiled, waving goodbye. The man left home.  
"You haven't eaten almost anything…" Maria found.  
"I'm not hungry." She threw the fork in the plate and leaned, arms crossed in the chair. "Sorry."  
"I don't want to see you sad, especially today!" The woman warned, trying hard to put a smile on Ellie's face. "C'mon Ellie, smile for me…"The teen shrugged. "Please, for me and for the baby!" Maria pouted, joining her hands together, begging. Ellie looked up and couldn't help a little giggle escaping her mouth. "Now, that's better." Maria grinned, rising from the chair with the plate on her hand. "Help me wash the dishes."  
"What about my surprise?"  
"Later." Maria said, laughing at the girl's eagerness.

Until 4pm the girls worked pretty hard. Maria not only wanted help washing the dishes but also cleaning the rest of the house. They cleaned the kitchen, the living room and bedroom. They washed the floors, the sheets and even the mattress. Apparently it was cleaning day in Jackson.  
When everything was cleaned and immaculate, the girls finally went upstairs to Maria's bedroom. The woman took two boxes from

Under the bed and walked towards Ellie who was sitting on the window sit, looking outside.  
"The sky is getting cloudy." She worried. "I hope it doesn't rain tonight."  
"I hope so too. Here, take it."  
Ellie turned to face the two boxes standing right in front of her nose, and then she raised an eyebrow while looking up at Maria who was happily grinning. The teen held the boxes and put it on the sit by her side. She opened the first box and immediately her jaw fell. She opened the other box, smaller than the one before, and widened her eyes.  
"Do you like it? Tommy fought really hard to find it and Christina also worked pretty hard to mend it. I'd like you to wear it tonight."  
Ellie took the dress out of the box and held it straight in front of her eyes so she could see it better. It was a short sleeve dark blue dress; the dress was halfway down the thighs and it' back was make of lace. It was really pretty.  
Ellie glanced at the other box where was lying inside a pair of black wedge shoed with an ankle strap. The shoes were also beautiful but, Ellie was worried, maybe she wasn't the right girl to fit in such a pretty outfit, she was actually planning on going to the dinner wearing just her usual jeans and some t-shirt.  
"I don't know if it will look good on me."  
"Of course it will! You are such a cute girl, Ellie. Why don't you take a shower and try on the dress? Maria suggested.  
"Okay…" The teen said, heading up to the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, Ellie got out from the bathroom to let Maria completely amazed. The dress was, certainly, made for her; It fitted her so well and the shoes, the shoes were so pretty, Ellie was gorgeous but Maria wasn't done with her yet.

The woman sat the teen in the window seat and while Ellie read some of her books, Maria prepared everything to give her a complete makeover. Every time Tommy went out for scavenging he'd always bring home some beautiful things for his wife; Maria had a few things to embellish Ellie with.

Around 6.30pm Ellie got herself perplexed in front of the mirror. Maria happily clapped to her own magnificent job.  
Ellie was in her black dress and wedge shoes, her auburn hair was all down and free, her nails were polished with a very soft kind of pink and even her face had a little bit of makeup. Obviously she didn't need it, she was beautiful just on her own but it was a special day.  
"You're gorgeous." Maria said with a tiny piece of melancholy in her voice.  
Ellie was still analyzing every single detail in her own reflection. The girl in the mirror was someone else, someone who had never faced the actual diseased world, it was someone who never cared about infected or hunters, someone completely free and that probably wouldn't last more than a night.  
"I don't even recognize myself…"  
"You look like a real woman."  
_A real woman?_ Ellie thought about Joel. Would he even stop to notice how beautiful she was? Would he even care to see how sad she felt for not having him by her side as it used to be before? Everyone would see Ellie and how different she looked that night but not him. That was him she wanted to be there. They were getting away more and more from one another. How could she ever fix that gap between them? Was it even possible? Well, she wanted him, she was now sure of it and she would fight for his attention until her strength ran out. That's what she thought.  
"Thanks Maria!" Ellie said, turning to face the woman. Maria gave the girl a tight, long hug. Ellie was probably what she got closer to a daughter, being pregnant was like giving the teen a younger brother…or sister.  
"I'm really glad you liked it." She smiled. "I bet Jay will like it too." Maria winked. It looked like there were too many people in town gossiping about her and Jay' "friendship"  
Ellie blushed.  
"I hope so…" She smiled timidly.  
Maybe it was time to give the boy a chance.

[To be continued..."  
Hope you liked it.


	5. Part IV

**Thanks a lot for your reviews :) I'll keep updating as long as you want me to :) **

**Enjoy**

**Fourth Part**

A special night required special food, special music, funny decoration and obviously a very special guest.  
Maria and Ellie were almost at the party. Ellie was so nervous, so happy that only there she remembered something important. The girl, suddenly, stopped in the middle of the way, looking down at her own arm where the disgusting red fungal scar took its place. She sighed. No one in town knew about it, they would probably fear it and would never get closer to her. After all this time she was still waiting for her turn; of course it would never happen but people didn't trust it and were always afraid of those things.  
"Ellie? What are you doing?" Maria said, looking back. She never noticed Ellie falling behind so she just kept on walking.  
The girl looked, worried, at Maria who was now walking back to her. Ellie raised her arm to Maria and the woman understood.  
"I can't go in there like this…" The teen said.  
"I forgot about it…" The woman confessed.  
"Me too. What now?"  
"I can go home and see what I can find to cover it, will you wait here?"  
"Yes sure."  
Maria nodded, smiling.  
"I'll be right back."  
"Hurry!"

Ellie took another look at the scar, sighing. _Let's just wait it out. You know we can be all poetic and just lose our minds together._ Ellie wished she could change that day. After she and Riley left the mall they felt emptier than ever but didn't regret spending their day together in there tough. They should've been more cautious, they should've kept it low but for some reason they didn't care about it, they needed that time together. They never came back home that day.  
"What are we gonna do?" Ellie asked.  
"Enjoy the rest of the day." Riley said, shrugging.  
"I don't want to turn…"  
"You won't even know when you do." She smiled. "Let's go." Riley held Ellie's hand and guided her along the road.  
They both wander around on the streets, trying to have some fun, trying to forget what was happening, enjoying the last hours they had left but none of them could do it.  
When Riley started to turn Ellie desperate, not only for seeing such a horrifying change of her friend but also because she, herself, felt completely normal, nothing was happening to her, she was still the same. How as that possible? She had been bitten at the same time as Riley.  
When Riley tried to attack Ellie, she tried to call her soul back to her body, she believed Riley wasn't all gone, she prayed Riley would recognize her but, the black hole inside her eyes told Ellie that the girl who once lived in that body was no longer there. Then, a group of fireflies found them and shot Riley. They approached Ellie, grabbing her scarred arm covered in blood.  
The man gave a nod to the group.  
"Let's take her to Marlene."

The group took her away from there, leaving Riley's body lying, abandoned, on the ground. Ellie's eyes filled up with tears as they left the place.  
"I'm sorry Riley…"  
"Who's Riley?"

Ellie shook her head. Hiding her arm behind her back. She just woke from a nightmare to another nightmare! She looked at brunette woman behind her. It was Johanna.  
"No one…"  
The woman rose an eyebrow.  
"What is it in you arm?" Johanna moved, trying to see what the girl was hiding.  
"Nothing…"  
"It didn't seem like nothing to me."  
"What do you want?"  
"Where is Joel?"  
Ellie's heart froze. Why was Johanna so obsessed with Joel? It was ridiculous and, how was Ellie supposed to fight against a lady like her? Johanna had such big round breasts and enviable curves. Her skin was tanned and her dark hair very long. Ellie was nothing like her.  
"He- he's on the wall, w-working." The girl stuttered.  
"I'm going to take a look around, see if he needs help." She chuckled cynically, walking away. "By the way, you look gorgeous tonight, enjoy you party." Ellie couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic but she probably was.  
Right when she left, Maria arrived handful of accessories.  
"You took so long…" Ellie complained.  
"Sorry. So, I have the bracelets and I have these lace gloves. Whish do you prefer?"  
The teen watched, carefully, at both. Having an arm full of bracelets seemed quite uncomfortable and the black lace gloves were beautiful, wrist length sleeve, a little bit transparent but still able to cover what no one could see.  
Ellie picked the gloves and put them on. It looked good on her too.  
"Thanks, once again."  
"Now we better go, we're getting late!"

It was unavoidable, almost a crime, looking at Ellie and stay ignorant. Since the moment she first put her feet on the party, she shined even brighter than the stars in the sky.  
The girl was shaking from head to toe, she had never felt so different, so grown up, and everything around her seemed to have changed. She was nervous about people's reaction to her new look, she was afraid of Joel showing up, she had high hopes even though she knew it was all in vain.  
Maria got away to certificate herself that in the kitchen everything was running fine and then Jay got closer to Ellie with a mesmerized look on his face. His mouth was wide open and his eyes big and shining.  
"Wow!"  
"Is that all you have for me?"  
He laughed.  
"I'm sorry, I mean…there are no words to describe you." He never had words to describe anything when he was with Ellie.  
"Just say any word…"  
His eyes looked up as if he was looking inside his brain for the right word.  
"Stunning?" He grinned at the girl who couldn't help but blush.  
"That'll do." They laughed together.  
"Let's eat kids!" Maria said, returning from the kitchen.  
All the townies grabbed their own plates and sat eating and talking and laughing. It would be a good long night. Who knows if Joel wouldn't be there by midnight to sing "happy birthday" to his baby girl. Maybe he did or maybe not.

After two hours of eating and chatting, everybody started to get up for a dance or two, to get drunk in the bar or just take a walk. The music was really loud and nobody could really tell if the background roars were actually from the music or from thunders. Summer storms were quit usual but they believed and prayed to have a dry and hot night.  
Suddenly in the speakers a very energetic music started. Jay got really excited.  
"Ellie, you wanna dance? I love this song."  
"Yes, sure."  
The boy grabbed Ellie's hand and ran with her to the dance floor.  
They held each other hands, bent their knees and started rocking back and forth together. Ellie wasn't the best of the dancers but she managed to have some fun and laugh from her uncoordinated moves.  
She looked down; those shoes weren't helping the dance so she just bowed down, unlaced the strap and released her feet from the pain, putting the shoes somewhere near the tables. She got back to Jay, grinning.  
"It feels good…"  
"To be barefoot?"  
"Yes, it's amazing." Both laughed.

The energetic song changed to a very slowly one, some ballad and Ellie thought it was time to stop dancing, go sit and take a break but Jay was thinking in something else. The boy held on to Ellie's waist and squeezed her against him while trying to dance. She felt surprised and terrified as well; what if he tried something like the night in the tree house? What if e tried worse? She had great instincts and she was almost sure that he would, if he had the opportunity, kiss her again. She didn't want that, did she?

Suddenly a huge roar of a thunder was heard and, in a matter of seconds, tons of thick drops of water started falling down from the sky uncontrollably. Ellie mentally thanked God for saving her; if He had something to do with it. Probably He hadn't.  
Maria shouted to everyone move inside and so they did, running inside to the dining hall.  
"Oh well, the rain just ruined everything." Jay said, shaking off water like a dog. That was not sexy at all, not even cute! If it was Joel, he would undress his shirt, twitch it and hang it somewhere by the fire to dry; he would clean himself with a towel and….and Ellie was thinking way too much about Joel. He was not even there, he ignored her happiness, he didn't care about her. She didn't want to feel like that for him but she needed to understand what was going on in his head, what was he so afraid of? _Maybe…maybe he feels the same way, maybe he…loves me_. She thought. She wanted to run to the wall and ask him directly, she wanted answers right in that moment.  
"Ellie wake up!" The boy said, waking his hand in front of her face.  
"What's wrong?"  
"I don't know, you tell me, you were the one dreaming here." He giggled.  
"I'm fine. I mean, the rain doesn't really ruin anything."  
"I think so too!" Maria agreed, landing her hand on Ellie's shoulder. Tommy was with her.  
The girl looked up at her.  
"It can't get any worse, can it?" She asked, confused.  
"Don't worry Ellie." Tommy said.  
"Just enjoy the rest of the party. "Maria added. "It's almost midnight; I'm going to see about the cake." Maria got away.  
"Where are your shoes?" Jay asked, looking at Ellie's wet, dirty feet.  
She sighed.  
"I forgot them outside."  
"You want to pick it up for you?" Tommy asked.  
"No, it's ok, I'm fine. Thanks."  
"Okay, let's take a seat then and wait for Maria."

Some minutes later everyone started to approach to the table were Ellie was sat and Maria and other woman, Laura, showed up with a very large square cake decorated with homemade Chantilly, strawberries (Ellie loved strawberries) and two candles that Maria herself had made. It's was pretty simple but beautiful, just like Ellie; she was simple but cute.  
Maria and Laura put the cake on the table, lit the candles and got behind the teen, both hands on the girl's shoulders.  
"Okay everyone; "Maria called. "It's five to midnight. Would you like to say something, Ellie?"  
The girl looked at the cake and then at the bunch of people in the dining hall. Among them there was not Joel, no one she could actually speak to, no one she could truly smile to but she still needed to say something, Maria and Tommy deserved it.  
"I'd like to thank everyone for being here and…I'm not really good at this things but I'd like you all to know that you're like family to me now and I hope we can grow together and learn things together; I know it's soon to say this but by the time I'm gone, I mean…dead…I want to see this town even bigger and healthier that it already is, I want us to keep taking more people in. I'm very happy to live here with you and I hope I can survive at least another year." She giggled, nervously. "Thanks." She finished.  
Everybody clapped.  
"Very deep Ellie." Said Maria to the girl's ear.  
"I felt like I needed to say something like this, I just don't know why…"  
"That's ok, they loved it." She faced the townies again. "Ok people, 10 seconds to midnight." She spoke loudly, glancing at her solar watch. "Let's do the countdown."

And then they started: 10…9…all the way down to 1 and finally started to sing the Happy Birthday song. By the time they finished singing, Ellie bent over to blow out the candles and, all of sudden, all the town power went down.  
They needed to proceed as rules demanded.  
"Alright people, go home and stay alert until the power comes back. We'll try to solve the problem as soon as possible." Tommy said.  
All of them got outside so they could see something. At least the rain had stopped  
Maria approached to Ellie with a sad look on her face.  
"I'm sorry honey; this was not how I've planned things. Maybe tomorrow we can celebrate at lunch time."  
"No problem I'm sleepy anyway."  
"I'm sorry Ellie, I don't know what happened, I checked the dam this morning and everything was alright. I'm sorry." Tommy apologized, twitching his mouth.  
"That's ok guys, we can celebrate tomorrow." Ellie smiled.  
"We sure can." Maria said. "Now go home." Ellie nodded.

Ellie went near the dining tables were she knew the shoes were resting and picked them. She was ready to head home but something caught her attention; one of the men who were guarding the dam radioed Tommy; the man looked excessively terrified.  
"Tommy! Tommy!"  
"Calm down Louis, I can't understand you. What is going on?"  
"Tommy, you need to come down here immediately, that's something weird going on here."  
"Let me just pick some men to go with me…"  
"NO!" The man almost shouted. "I need you to come alone, don't bring anyone with you."  
Tommy's face frowned; he got more worried that he thought. Hunters or infected would never scare someone in that town, not anymore. Louis found something else and by the looks of it, it was not something pretty.  
"I'll be right there!"  
Tommy turned his face to notice Ellie staring, mindfully, at him. The man gave the teen a hard and worried look and immediately headed to the dam.  
There was something wrong and Ellie knew it. But what could it be?

**[To be continued..."]**

**Hope you like it, don't forget to review :D**


	6. Part V

**Hey guys, I'm really glad you are enjoying it and I hope you want me to keep posting it.  
About the cliffhangers...you know, sometimes a little suspense is good, right? Don't get me wrong ok?**

**Enjoy the fifth part**

**Part V**

"Fuck!" Ellie swore, touching the mattress still resting against the wall outside the house. "It's soaked! Where am I going to sleep now?" She snorted, opening the front door and stepping inside the house.  
"I hope they solve the problem soon."The voice of a woman came from the kitchen; Joel was home already and, apparently, not alone.  
Ellie walked, silently like a cat on her bare feet, to the corner of the wall; the teen peered at the door to see what was happening in there. The house was all dark inside; Ellie could barely distinguish the furniture or the woman beside Joel but there were two candles alight on the table; by the curvy, busty silhouette the teen presumed it was Johanna. Who else could it be?  
"I guess we have to schedule our game to some other day." He said.  
The girl frowned, indignant. _You bustard, you left the wall earlier to come play cards with this bitch!_ The girl slowly shook his head.  
"Yeah, it's late anyway, I should be going." She said.  
Ellie paid attention to their, ever closer, footsteps and immediately sprinted upstairs.  
She didn't have a bed that night but, even if she wanted to, she wasn't going to sleep with Joel. Every time she decided to fight for him, for them, he ended up disappointing her. Maybe it wasn't worth it, maybe he wasn't worth it.  
She needed to find a place to sleep.

The teen entered into the bathroom, switched on her flashlight, took off his dress, bra and gloves and put on some blue shorts and a striped tank top. At home she could be however she wanted to; she didn't need to worry about that scar or whatever.  
She cleaned up her muddy feet, wiped her makeup and tied her hair in her usual ponytail. She looked normal now; she looked like her and she liked it, it felt good.  
Finally she switched her flashlight back off and opened, quietly, the bathroom door. She looked to right and to the left; there was no Joel around.  
She walked in her tiptoes do her room, grabbed a blanket and headed downstairs again. The couch would have to do.

In the middle of the night the rain came again, falling hard on the roof, lashing the windows; it was getting cold in that living room and the blanket didn't seem to be enough to cover Ellie's small body; she couldn't sleep anyway.  
After a while of turning and tossing on that uncomfortable brown couch she finally found the right position, her body was getting heavy and her brain very dormant but she heard something, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and she immediately woke up, she froze, staring at the sofa. The footsteps only came closer and her heartbeat speeded up; she tried to stay still and breathe calmly to pretend she was asleep, but it was almost impossible.  
A strong hand landed on her arm.  
"Ellie…" Her heart jumped, her blood ran away from her veins; she felt like dying. His voice was so low and peaceful, a bit rough as well. "Ellie…I know you're awake." He said, sitting beside her body on the couch. "Why don't you come sleep with me?" He breathed hard, caressing her arm.  
"I'm fine here." She said.  
Joel leaned forward, resting his forehead on her shoulder. He hated to admit how much he wanted her.  
"I'm sorry for being such a prat with you… "  
"Just let me sleep…"She said, shaking his arm to push him away. Joel held his body, landing his hands against the couch on each side of her body  
"You know that everything I do is because I care for you…"He whispered.  
"If you really cared about me you wouldn't finish your work earlier to be with that woman…I really thought you would come to my dinner.  
"But I was there…" Ellie frowned, finally lying on her back to see Joel's face so closer to hers. "Is just that…you were having such a good time; I didn't dare to bother you…"  
"Bother me?" She felt hurt. "When did you ever bother me?" He leaned forward again now resting his forehead on her chest; he was breathing harder than normal. Ellie couldn't tell if he was nervous or just tired. Ellie lifted up his face with her hands and looked, desolately at him. "What is wrong you, Joel?" She caressed his face.  
He shook his head slowly, not even he knew what was wrong. Joel closed his eyes and leaned forward once again but this time to land his lips on hers.  
Ellie widened her eyes, surprised by his act. Her whole body shivered and a little whisper escaped from her throat. When Jay kissed her nothing like that happened. Now she was positive, she wanted Joel more than ever.  
The girl opened his mouth and he immediately felt free to search for her tongue. Unlike Jay, Joel's mouth was a moist and delicious paradise; it tasted like barley coffee mixed with mint or something that felt very fresh. His hands were rough on the soft skin of her arm but he, definitely knew how to touch her.  
She moaned loudly. Ellie wanted more, so much more!

Ellie's hand landed on Joel's shoulder, sliding down his arm to reach his hand, holding it to guide it under her tank top. She moaned again, feeling his hand climbing up her body; feeling the tip of his index barely touch her rigid nipple. That contact only woke him up. _What are you doing Joel?_ He thought.  
When he started to get up, regretting what he was doing, she moaned in disapproval and followed his moves while still kissing him. Joel called her name several times, telling her to stop but somehow ended up reclined on the couch with Ellie on his lap, one leg to each side of his body.  
He was feeling the heat growing between them; he was feeling his mind going blind from all the lust. He couldn't allow himself to do something like that. Not with her; she was a kid.  
Joel grabbed her waist firmly, throwing her to the corner of the couch and getting on his feet in a quick move as she grunted in dissatisfaction.  
"I'm sorry…" He said stammering with his hand on his head. "I should go to sleep…"  
"Are you going to leave me like this?"  
Joel looked at the girl who was panting hard, opened legs and shaking body on the couch. He still wanted to go back there and touch her.  
"Sorry…" He shook his head, running upstairs.

An hour later she was able to calm herself down and finally fall asleep. She was afraid that morning came; she was afraid because she didn't know exactly how Joel would cope with what happened. Maybe he would ignore her, maybe he would act like nothing had ever happened but she hoped he could be aware of what she felt.

**Morning**

"The power's back again." Joel said, steeping into the kitchen. "I still don't know why Tommy didn't call me last night."  
Ellie sighed, looking outside the window to the sunny fresh morning that settled in Jackson while washing some dishes. Joel had chosen the wrong mood, he couldn't ignore what happened and, how could he even do it anyway? Ellie knew he felt the same, he felt the eager of the desire taking over his body just like she did. What was so wrong about it? Love is not wrong.  
"Louis told him not to bring anyone; he seemed pretty worried tough." She answered. Ellie turned off the water and looked, crossing her arms, at Joel who was already sitting at the counter, waiting for some food."I think we need to talk about last night." He coughed.  
"That's not normal. I should talk to him to see what happened then." Joel, completely, ignored her.  
Ellie stamped her foot on the ground, uncrossing his arms.  
"How can you do that?" She frowned. "You can't act like nothing happened!"  
"You're right…just forget about breakfast. I need to go to work."  
Joel got on his feet and walked towards the door to leave home but she ran to him, grabbing his arm.  
"You can't ignore me like that!" She scolded. Her eyes were getting red, ready to cry.  
Joel took a very deep breath, looking at her beautiful freckled face that always reminded him of a starry sky. She was so perfect.  
"Look…what happened last night was a terrible mistake; I can't dare myself to touch you like that. You understand?"  
She swallowed.  
"What if I want you to touch me just like that?" She murmured.  
Joel thought about it; Joel thought again about running his hands through her whole body. He shivered at the idea.  
"You don't. Believe me…" He stuttered. "You're just confused."  
"Joel, I am not confused. I fucking want you!" She said between teeth.  
In a quick move he cupped his hands on her face and looked, deeply into that heavy, green forest; he could totally lost himself, gazing at those eyes. He leaned his forehead against hers.  
"We can't do this…" He whispered.  
"Give us a chance, Joel." She whispered too.

Someone knocked on the door. They both looked towards it.  
Joel glanced at Ellie, sighing and then left her to open the door. It was Tommy.  
"Morning Joel…" He said, steeping inside the house without even ask if he could. "Moring Ellie."  
"What are you doing here? And why didn't you call me last night? What happened?" Too my questions.  
"There was no need to call you. Please, shut the door." The big brother did as he asked. Tommy looked pretty nervous.  
"What's wrong Tommy?" Joel asked, crossing his arms.  
"About yesterday…there is really nothing to worry about. Really!"Ellie looked at Joel. She knew Tommy was, probably lying. He was trying more to convince himself than actually Joel and Ellie. "I came here because I need a favor…" He coughed. "I want to give Maria a birthday gift and I…I can't really leave town now. I was hoping you could go."  
"But we're still in August. Maria's birthday is not for another two months." Ellie found.  
"I know…" Tommy stuttered a bit.  
"Tommy what's going on?" Joel frowned, doubtfully  
"Nothing!" He almost panicked. "Is just that we'll have plenty of work for the next two months and no one will be leaving town." He cleaned his throat "Could you do that for me?"  
Joel got himself closer to his brother and grabbed his arm, giving him a hard look.  
"You're not hiding anything from me, are you?" Joel murmured.  
"I'm not!" He said firmly. For the first time in that conversation he seemed truthful.  
"Ok, we can do that for you, can't we Ellie?"  
She nodded.

**Later that day.**

Joel and Ellie headed to the stables, they obviously needed a horse.  
"What are you doing here? You should be gone already!" Tommy asked.  
"We're taking a horse." Joel said.  
"Oh no, you're not!"  
Ellie raised an eyebrow.  
"Why not?" She asked.  
"Did you forget about the other one we lost because of you?"  
"That wasn't our fault!" She tried.  
Tommy and Maria never knew about what happened, there was no need actually. That stupid winter was not something they felt proud of. Sometimes Ellie even had nightmares about it.  
"Even so, you'll walk. Sorry." Ellie snorted, rolling her eyes. "And you better go now. Don't waste anymore time here."  
"I still don't understand what the rush is for, but that's fine, we'll go." Joel said. "See you soon."  
"Just…be careful." He advised.

Joel and Ellie left the stables and headed to the large gate where someone would be to let them leave town.  
"I don't like this…" She said.  
"Yeah me neither…" He agreed. "Tommy was nervous the entire time."  
"Maybe we should go to the dam and see if we can find something…" Ellie suggested.  
"The dam must be heavily guarded; no one would let us get close." She sighed. "Don't worry, we'll be back before we even notice and then we can try to understand what happened last night, okay?"  
"Okay…" She said, discouraged.  
"Let's go then."

**[To be continued...]**

**Don't forget to review :)  
Thanks for reading.**


	7. Part VI

**I'm so happy that you are liking my fanfiction. Thanks for all the nice reviews. **

**Enjoy the sixth part :D**

**Sixth Part **

"Just let me have a taste." He shook his head. "C'mon Joel, let me have a little, just a little!" He shook his head again, drinking the vodka directly from the bottle. Tommy had found it in one of his scavenging and offered it to Joel to his birthday. "You're such a spoiler!" She grumbled, reclining on the chair, pouting.  
"You're a kid; kids can't drink this kind of stuff." He laughed.  
"Well, I think you drink way too much." Joel laughed again, taking another long sip from the bottle.  
"If you behave, I might give you the last drop." He smiled. Joel had already drunk half of the drink; Ellie doubted he would even let her touch the bottle.  
"Bah! Just have it all, drink it all and get drunk, I don't care." He chuckled.

Joel got up from his chair and turned on the radio that was on the counter. There was some romantic music playing but he danced as if it was an extremely energetic song.  
"Let's dance!" He invited, happily.  
"No…"  
"Grumpy kid." She stuck her tongue at him. "C'mon Ellie!" He grabbed her arm, pulling her from the chair.  
"I can't dance."  
"I'll lead you." He said, quickly picking her up with one arm in the air and landing her feet on top of his shoes. That way she would be able to dance.  
Ellie blushed a bit. She put her arms around his torso, rested her head on his chest and let him guide her; she could totally fall asleep like that.  
"See…you're dancing now…" He murmured.  
"Joel?"  
"Yes?"  
"Joel? Joel, Wake up!" She called, shaking his arm. "We need to go back."  
"What? What time is it?" He was still sleepy, and dreaming.  
"Time to get up. We need to get back to Jackson."  
"Oh, that's right." He sat, eyes closed, taking his fingers to his temples. He was having a terrible headache. "You think he'll like the ring?"  
"He has to. It must be the most valuable thing we ever found in this fucked up world. He better like it."  
That was true. They spent the last two days searching for something Tommy would like, something that Maria would wear and they finally found it. They didn't get too far away from the town tough; there were so many lost houses in the middle of the woods and fortunately there were no infected nor hunters around. Lucky them!  
"Sure thing." He got on his feet, complaining about the pain he felt not only on his head but also on his back. He needed to stop sleeping on the floor. "I'm so feeling my age! Jesus!" He groaned.  
"Humpf."  
"You okay?"  
"Sure I am." She put her backpack on. "Let's go."  
"Hold your horses, young lady; I'm not your age." She rolled her eyes.  
At a snail's pace, Joel picked up the gun from under his backpack, which he also used as a pillow in nights like those, and put it in the holster. Then he clutched the backpack and put it on his back. Finally he brushed his grizzly hair with his own fingers. Ellie started to snort; she was obviously getting pretty bored.  
"Are you ready yet?" She put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow.  
"Yes ma'am." He saluted.  
"Let's get a move on." She headed to the front door.  
"Bossy today…" He murmured, heading behind her.

After one more day of walking in the woods, the pair finally approached Jackson but they were both really, really tired. Joel was eager to find a bed and Ellie required a bath.  
The teen felt sad about being back. Maybe she was just imagining things but it seemed to her that when they were out of town the gap between them was no longer there. Maybe because Johanna wasn't around, always hitting hard on Joel or maybe because Jay didn't try to kiss Ellie every single time they were together. Maybe both! Is not that they didn't like living in Jackson, is just that life in town was always so demanding, they never had time to each other, they used to spend more time listening other people that actually paying attention to each other. When they were travelling all they needed to worry about was staying alive and protect each other.  
"I used to be addicted to soap, but I'm clean now." Ellie said.  
"What?" He turned around to look her. She was reading that joke book again. Joel didn't know anymore how many times she had reread it.  
"Do you know what's not right?"  
"Left…" He said.  
"Yup!" She laughed.  
Joel shook his head, smiling and turning forward. They were getting closer to the gate.  
"What did the green grape say to the purple grape?  
Breathe, you idiot!" She laughed out loud.  
"Ellie, shut up."  
"Why? This is funny." She complained. "So, I tried to catch some fo-"  
"Ellie!" He cut her off.  
"What?"  
"Look there!" He pointed at the Towns entrance. "The gate is opened."  
"They must have seen us already." She started to run towards the gate but he stopped her, holding tightly to her arm. She growled in disapproval.  
"There is no one on the wall!" He pointed up. "See?"  
She looked, confused at him.  
"You thing something's wrong?" She asked, stowing the joke book in her backpack.  
"I know something's wrong since we left. I just don't know what." Joel looked everywhere; everything was too silent and there was no one around; no infected, no hunters, no townies. "Let's get inside. Just…keep it low, okay?" He said nervously, grabbing his pistol.  
"Got it." She held her bow.

The pair headed, quietly, to the gate.  
Joel peered at corner but saw no one. He gave Ellie a nod and both stepped inside the town, aiming. It was useless, there was nothing but burnt houses, smoke, lost animals and a few corpses scattered on the floor.  
Ellie's jaw dropped. Joel breathed hard.  
"What the hell just happened here?" She questioned.  
"Nothing good, Ellie…nothing good…" He swallowed. "Let's see if we can find anyone…alive…"  
They searched for almost an hour, they went from house to house and ones that weren't burnt were empty both people and supplies. They finally went to Maria and Tommy's house; no supplies either. They stepped into the kitchen. On wall they could read an S and an F painted with…blood? It was still fresh.  
"S.F? What does it means?"  
"No idea…but they obviously left this here for us. "  
"You thing Tommy already knew it would happen?" She asked. "You think that's why he rushed us out of town?"  
"Probably. We should go to the dam, maybe we'll find something." Ellie agreed.

They left the town again.  
In the dam there was also no one around; at least outside. All they could hear was the birds, singing, the water, running and the wind, blowing.  
Joel opened the door and looked at the worried girl behind him.  
"Wait here while I go inside."  
"I'm going with you!" She said firmly.  
"I may need cover, just stay here. If you see anyone….come and tell me. Okay?"  
She sighed, desolately.  
"Okay…" She murmured as he stepped inside the building.

Ellie stood in front of the door, looking carefully to every single place and corner. She was so afraid but if there's no fear there cannot be any braveness and she was a brave little girl. She learnt so much alone, she also learnt a lot with and about Joel. He had been through so much and he didn't fear anything, he was so tough! Well, he was still afraid of two things: losing Ellie and loving Ellie.  
After a while he returned, panting and shaking.  
"We need to go!"  
Joel grabbed Ellie's hand and dragged her with him back to town and into their house. Ellie was confused.  
"What's wrong?" She asked, watching him, nervously, putting all the supplies he could inside both backpacks. They were lucky other people left their house in one piece.  
"We just need to go and find Tommy."  
"Why are you so nervous? What did you saw inside the building?" He didn't answer. He ran upstairs and went back down with all the rags, bottles of alcohol and tape that he could find. He also carried two warm coats.  
"Joel!" She raised her, now shaky, voice. The girl was starting to get nervous too.  
"Don't make questions. Just help me…"  
"You're scaring the hell out of me…" She cried.  
Joel ran into the kitchen, picked some knifes, sugar and canned food. They couldn't carry everything so that'll have to do.  
When he returned to the living room Ellie was staring at the wooden floor, almost crying. "Hey…" He ran towards her, getting on his knees in front of her. "It's okay…we're okay."  
"Then why are you so scared?"  
"I'm not scared; we just need to find Tommy…that's all." He smiled.  
Joel threw the final things into the backpack and put it on his shoulders. He handed the girl her own backpack and she did the same as him.  
"You're ready?" She nodded. "Let's go."  
The man held Ellie's hand and both left town to search for Tommy.

**_[To be continued...]_**

**Thanks for reading**

**Don't forget to review. :D**


	8. Part VII

**Hey guys. I'm sorry for the delay hehe. Thanks again for the nice reviews :D**

**For some reason I don't like this chapter and I've been deleting it and posting it over and over again and I'm really sorry for that. Anyways I guess I finally have it the way I wanted to at first. Sorry once again.**

**So this is a small one, still I hope you enjoy it.**

:)

**Part 7 - The begining of the journey - Last days of Summer**

According to Joel, the initials left by Tommy on that wall were the abbreviations to the city of San Francisco so after they leave Jackson they went straight to the road that would take them there; On the other hand, Ellie didn't like that idea at all because it didn't make any sense. Why would Tommy go to San Francisco? Ellie doubted he'd ever been there but Joel was, as always, as stubborn as a horse; even Callus behaved better than that man.

The pair walked through the woods the rest of the day and half of the night until they finally found a little cabin in the woods where they decided to spend the rest of the night. Both their feet and body ached. Joel needed a good night sleep even though he knew that it'd be something impossible.

"Wait here." He said to the girl. She didn't have the energy to fight back so she just rolled her eyes and sat on the ground.  
Joel approached the cabin and, aiming his shotgun, opened the door; he saw nothing. The man carefully stepped inside, investigating every single dark corner with his eyes and then he switched his flashlight on. The cabin was completely empty.

He went back to the front door.  
"It's clear." He shouted to the teen that was absent minded staring at the ground, playing with the grass or some bug. "Ellie!" She shouted again.  
"Huh?" She looked at him.  
"It's clear, come inside." She nodded, rising up, cleaning her hands to the jeans and walking towards the cabin. Joel stopped her at the entrance. "Are you ok?"  
"No…" She sighed, crestfallen. "You still didn't tell me what was inside the building."  
Joel switched his flashlight off to kneel down in front of her, holding her hand. Whatever was going through her mind, she needed to know he still cared for her.  
"Don't worry about it. We'll be okay." He murmured.  
Ellie looked up at him, biting her lower lip. Joel shivered, looking away to the ground; those light green eyes were like poison in his heart; he knew what she was trying to do. They didn't talk about what happened that night after Ellie's birthday and Joel surely didn't want to go back there because there was actually a possibility that he, irrationally or not, could do the same thing.  
"I'm scared…" She confessed. Ellie was almost never scared or at least she never showed it.  
Joel looked at her again.  
"You don't need to be, I'm right here with you." He gave her a weak smile.  
Ellie took a deep breath, squeezing his hand in hers. The girl bent over, considering his mouth to be the only possible path to follow. He stopped her, holding her arms.  
"Ellie…don't…" He shook his head.  
She sighed against his face but didn't say anything; she didn't argue back, she only stepped inside and, promptly, found her place on the floor, actually near a couch, to sleep.  
Joel closed the front door while she took a green blanket from her backpack. He stood beside her.  
"You can sleep on the couch if you want…"  
"You can have it, I'm fine here." She said blankly, covering herself with the blanket and turning her back to the couch and to Joel as well.  
"Ellie, please I do-"  
"Night Joel." She said, curling up like a cat, trying to sleep.  
"Good night Ellie."

Joel lied down on the couch, staring at the ceiling, holding tingly to his revolver. The days outside Jackson had been everything but restless; they never found hunters nor infected and that was a little bit strange. Who knows, maybe hunters turned into one of those disgusting things and maybe those disgusting things were now gone for good; extinct. Joel chuckled, ironically, at his own thoughts and then looked down where Ellie was sleeping. What if he'd left the Fireflies keep her; what if he'd left her die? He would for sure be an old man full of regrets waiting to die alone. He would be nothing without her.  
Joel closed his eyes at last, but he kept on seeing her.

She was lovely even in his dreams, lying belly up on the floor of her room, knees bent, reading some book of course; Ellie was always reading. She was wearing some black shorts; some high knee blue toned striped socks and Joel's green shirt; it was unbuttoned from the half to the end, exposing the rosy skin of her belly. He closed his eyes for a moment; he loved her; he loved her so much.  
Joel opened his eyes again and suddenly, she was lying on a bed, completly intubated, dressing some baby blue hospital dress and Marlene was there too, looking hard at Joel, aiming a gun at him.  
"You can still do the right thing here, Joel."And then she shot him.

Joel jumped on the couch, almost falling, waking up from his troubled sleep. He used to dream about memories but now he was having real nightmares. He felt guilty for everything in that dream; breaking Ellie's privacy like that was something he would never dare to do.

"Bad dreams again?" She murmured. "I hate it…" She looked at him as he sat on the couch, running his hand through his face, growling.  
"What you doing?" He asked, watching her write something on a piece of paper.  
She sighed.  
"Ehm…" She put on a smart thinker expression. "You know, I don't think S.F means San Francisco. Just think…why would Tommy go there?"  
"To escape?"  
"Yeah but, why San Francisco? Does he even knows the city?"  
"I don't know. What does it has to do with what you're writing anyway?"  
"I needed to set up a list of possibilities for the S and F but I can't any good words..." Joel scratched his beard, still thinking about the stupid dream. "The only logical word for S is South and for the F I can only think of Fireflies." She rose an eyebrow.  
Joel prepared to shake his head in disaproval but then something came to his mind: If Tommy was really in San Francisco they would need to get there fast and the fastest road passed through Salt Lake City; Joel could tell that Ellie was suspicious about what happened there and even if he told her that he only tried to save her, maybe because he was only selfish or maybe because he loved her way too much to lose her to a vaccine which he didn't even know if it would actually work, maybe both possibilities, he didn't really want to explain that to her.

Joel got on his feet and started to walk from one side to another, repeatedly. He thought about the F; it could actually mean Fireflies but Tommy knew about Ellie, he knew what Marlene once wanted with her and he would never put the girl in danger. Still, what was the hidden word behind the S? Seattle? Sonora? Did it even mean a place in the USA? It could so many things: Safeguard; Salvage; Stalkers; Sand; South? Maybe he went south? South what? South Dakota? South Carolina? Maybe just south.  
"Joel, you're dizzying me."  
"Sorry…" He stopped. "I think we should go. We can't waste time."  
"Okay…"

The pair prepared everything to leave and in less than an hour they were hitting the road to Denver. Joel really hoped he didn't end up stabbed like he did last time in that stupid University; Ellie didn't need to suffer because of his stupidity.  
"I was really just suggesting it to you. Are you sure you want to head south?" Ellie asked.  
"Yes. I think you may be right."  
"Okay...good!"

**Thank you all.  
I'll try to post another one tomorrow or after but don't worry, I won't stop updating :)  
Don't forget to review :P  
See ya**


	9. Part VIII -Last Summer Days

**Here I am again. So, I just wanted to say that I don't really know the USA, I've never been there so I've studying the map in google maps and describing places as I saw in pictures. I apologize if something's wrong hehe.  
Still, I hope you enjoy it. **

**Part 8 - The Journey - Last days of Summer**

"I'm so hungry!" She complained, shuffling along the road.  
"I know, I am too." Joel said, walking ahead of her.  
"And I'm so tired, my feet hurt!" She complained again.  
"We'll find a place to rest any time soon."

One month on the road, they were already in Kansas; days were getting darker and colder and all they had was two cans of soup and an empty canteen. Life in Jackson made them forgot of how tough it was to survive out there, even hunters seemed to be gone but Joel was pretty sure they weren't, they were just really cautious when it came to choose their hideouts.

The pair cut through a Wind Farm, approaching the city of Hoisington where Joel planned on staying the night, gather some supplies and comfort both their stomachs with some hot food. Ellie couldn't stop looking up, mouth half opened, mesmerized by those big turbines. At least she found a way to distract herself and forget about the pain in her body.  
"What the hell are these monsters?" She asked.  
"Wind Turbines. It uses the power of the wind to produce energy…"  
"Like the dam in Jackson?"  
"Yeah. That's right."  
"You guys had plenty of these things back then."  
Joel chuckled.  
"You know, people used build these things to prevent pollution and save the world." He chuckled again, ironically.  
"Did it work?" She looked at him.  
"I don't think so…" He scratched his neck. "I guess the world was doomed anyway."  
She sighed, following Joel.

After a while, they finally found a nice house, barricaded windows and doors, to spend the night and while Joel checked inside, Ellie looked absently to the red sun, slowly disappearing in the horizon. Summer was seeing its last days vanishing with the mild wind that would soon bring the damp breeze of fall. She felt like traveling in a time machine, going back in time, walking on the road with Joel again to find Tommy again. Last time wasn't easy but after those two years in Jackson they didn't know what to expect from the world behind those walls. Maybe they would find peace in a new world with no more infected nor hunters or maybe they were just digging their own grave.  
"Ellie!" He landed his hand on her shoulder, making her jump.  
She turned around to face Joel.  
"What?"  
"I was talking to you."  
"Sorry…I got distracted…" She murmured, looking at her feet.  
"What's wrong?"  
She shrugged.  
"You thing we're going to find them?" She worried.  
"I really hope so…" He gave her a weak smile. "C'mon, let's move inside."

Joel and Ellie moved inside the house.  
The girl shut the door and inspected the house with her flashlight while Joel built a fire in the fireplace. She didn't find much; someone must have already been there and had probably taken the rest of the supplies left. She wondered if it would be like that in all the houses they'd go and spend night in 'cause they were really short on supplies and it wouldn't last very long. There wasn't much food around that they could gather either, perhaps they should eat less of maybe they should start hunting. All she knew is that it would complicated to survive, even more complicated than it was two years ago and she was scared.

She returned to the living room, throwing her backpack on an armchair. The teen sat on the floor near Joel who was heating the canned soup on a grill surface he must have found. She grabbed a can and Joel watched her as she drank the soup, slurping it a bit loud. He smiled a bit, grabbing his own can.  
"You were really hungry." He said, taking a sip from the can.  
"I told you so…" She finished the soup, putting the can on the floor. "And I'm so tired." She yawned.  
"You can sleep on the couch if you want…"  
She shook her head, reaching her backpack on the armchair to take her green blanket out.  
"I don't want you complaining all day about your back so, you sleep on the couch."  
"Silly girl…" He murmured.  
"Old man!" Ellie smiled, lying down with her backpack beneath her head, her back turned to him and covering herself with the blanket. "Good night Joel." She said quietly as he sighed.  
"Good night baby girl." She widened her smile. It had been awhile since the last time he called her that. She felt warm and protected, just like she used to when he was a dedicated and caring man. She loved him so much.

**Later That Night**

Along the years Joel learnt to have a slight sleep which served him pretty well that night.  
Three or four hours after they fall asleep Joel woke up, bothered by the noise of gunshots and laughter outside, approaching the house. Who the hell could be out there at dawn, laughing and shooting God knows what!? Hunters!  
Joel reached his rifle and ran to the window. He crouched, peeking outside. There were two blonde men looking at something and another one, a black skinned one, shooting that something, an animal perhaps.  
Another shot!  
"Did you see that shit!?" One of them shouted.  
"Nailed it!"  
"Go get it you idiot!" The aimed one shouted.  
One of the blondes ran to pick up whatever the other shot and then returned with two wild cats in his hands.  
"We should check what's inside that house…"  
Joel widened his eyes as the men started walking towards the house. He glanced at Ellie who was still away in her innocent sleep. They were short on bullets; they wouldn't be able to fight them; the only good option was to escape through the kitchen's door that would lead them to the house's backyard.  
Joel ran to the girl, shaking her arm.  
"Ellie, wake up." She slowly opened her eyes. "Wake up, Ellie!"  
She turned to face him, stretching and yawning.  
"What's wrong?"  
"Hurry, we need to go…"  
"Why?"  
"Hunters, outside. C'mon!" He helped her getting up.  
Ellie grabbed her backpack as Joel pulled her by the hand, dragging her with him to the kitchen. A massive kick sound was heard; the men probably kicked down the front door and were already inside. Joel breathed hard, trying to open the kitchen door but apparently it was locked; he was already sweating. Nothing like that happened to him before, why was he so scared of the men? He could totally take care of them all by his own.  
"Here, let me…" Ellie murmured, moving him out of the way to open the door.  
She reached a shiv from her pocket, placed it in the doorjamb, cracked the door open and they were out. Well, she learnt with the best!  
The pair left the house and after a few seconds of running they were out of the area. They could breathe at last.

The Sun was rising from the horizon; morning was coming slow and fresh. Life wasn't easy anymore, their nightmare had just started last night and there was obviously more to come.  
After a while they decided to stop and sit in some fallen tree trunk they found in the middle of the woods. They had neither food nor water to drink; they had to find a river, quickly.  
"You ok?" She asked Joel who was panting hard and coughing. He nodded. "What happened to you back there?"  
He shrugged.  
"I'm getting old Ellie…I ain't the same I was two years ago." She twitched her mouth. "I just hope I can protect you this time too."  
"You don't have to worry about me, you know that."  
"Well, I do!" He gave her a hard look. "I do, okay?"  
"Right…" She shrank a bit, staring at his boots. "I forgot my blanket in there." She pouted.  
"I'll find you something. We also need warm clothing, fall is getting closer and winter will come even faster." She nodded has he got on his feet again. "We need to go to Little Rock, there must be some supplies in the city or so I hope."  
"Right…" She repeated.  
Joel looked down at her, sighing. He crouched in front of her.  
"Look," Undecidedly, he landed his hand on her knee. He couldn't explain why but that kind of touch didn't felt weird to him anymore, it just felt normal and somehow good."I know this is hard for you but I think I taught you well; you're going to be okay."  
"You speak as if you were to die tomorrow…" She pouted.  
Joel chuckled.  
"I hope I don't but, you know, things happen." He smiled, holding her hand.  
She bent over to hug him. Joel shivered a little, surprised by her sudden move but then he hugged her back, stroking her ponytail.  
"Thanks for being with me Joel."  
He smiled.  
"We should get going." He said, breaking the hug and rising up. She rose up with him.  
"Lead the way…" She smiled.

**[To be continued...]**

**Thanks for reading :)**  
**Don't forget to review. :)**


	10. Part IX

Hey everyone. This is a really small one but...oh well, it's been a hard time for me and it is complicated to write.

I hope you like it.

**Part VI**

Two more weeks passed with zero warning. If there was any good reason to be walking so much just to get south then it better be worth it, they better be right, they better find Tommy and Maria otherwise the journey would only serve to kill them both.

Joel peeked over his shoulder to look at the sleepwalker girl yawning and reeling with her eyes on the road.  
"Ellie..." He called but she only moaned. "We're almost there, hold up a bit longer."  
She shrugged. Asking her to wait was the same as asking to a Clicker to stay away, Joel knew that she'd probably fall asleep right there, in the middle of the tar.  
He instantly stopped, causing her to crash into him.  
"Ouch..." She complained, rubbing her fingers on her nose. Apparently the crash did hurt her.  
"Sorry..." He said, looking everywhere for a place to spend the night but all he could see was tar and more tar and a stopped truck, crossed in the middle of the road.  
"Joel, I can't walk anymore..." She said, dragging her heavy voice.  
"C'mere" He said, taking the little girl in his arms. She immediately made herself comfortable, resting her head in his chest and closing her eyes, ready to fall asleep.

Joel carried her along the road to the stopped truck, it was getting really cold outside, the sky was darker than ever and they needed to sleep. The truck was the only option so far. Maybe it was not such a good idea because there might be hunters crossing that road every day and they'd be most likely spotted but Joel didn't care about that. He was so feeling his age.  
Hardly, he put the girl back on the ground. She kept her eyes closed, the head on his shoulder and the arms around his neck.  
Joel opened the truck's door.

"C'mon Ellie, climb up." She moaned in disapproval while shaking her head. "I'll help..."

He nervously grabbed her by the waist, it's been a while since Joel's hands did not touch even a piece of her skin and, secretly, he missed it; he missed the warmth of her tiny body which has recently became increasingly thinner and he kind of felt guilty for that, because since they left Jackson Joel had been avoiding big cities, he felt weak and he surely didn't want to put his baby girl in danger without knowing that he could protect her decently so, in controversy, they had been most likely starving. Small towns were always empty, houses were out of supplies and the pair was also short on ammo, so hunting was not such a good idea as it seemed.  
Ellie stepped up into the truck and went, immediately, to the bed on the back where she fell asleep. Joel sat on the passenger seat and shut the door; He leaned back, pistol in hand and tried to rest without going to sleep.

An hour later, when the man was about to fall asleep, a sweet voice calling his name came from the back. He opened his eyes, shaking his head and body. Was he dreaming?  
"Joel…are you ok?" No, he was not.  
"Hm? Yeah…" He looked back at her. "Hey! What happened to sleeping?…"  
"You woke me up….you've been coughing and coughing…"  
"Was I coughing?" She nodded. "I'm sorry then…"  
"Are you ok? I mean…aren't you sick or something?"  
"No…don't worry about me." He smiled while stretching his arm to caress her face and hair. She was so lovely. "Go back to sleep now, you need to rest."  
"Joel…?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Why don't you tell me what you saw in the building at the dam that scared you much?"  
Joel raised his eyebrows. She was a stubborn girl and would never give up until she get what she wanted: to know the truth behind Joel's fear.  
"Nothing really…I was just scared because I saw no one. I'm just worried about Tommy and Maria."  
It was like when she asked him about the fireflies, he promised that everything he said was true but something about his eyes told Ellie he was lying and he probably was so why bother? He would keep on lying all his life just to protect her; she surely couldn't blame him for that.  
"I'm afraid we never gonna find them."  
"Don't say that…we will find them, okay? I promise!" He smiled.  
"Okay…" She nodded. "Good night Joel."  
"Good night baby girl."  
Ellie turned to the other side and closed her eyes. In a matter of seconds she fell asleep once again.  
Joel held his pistol tightly while staring at the road, he only hoped that he could make the whole journey and protect Ellie. After a little while also he closed his eyes.

[To be continued...]

Thanks for reading.

:)


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